Auschwitz Eyewitness: The Artwork of Jan Komski. Jan Komski (1915-2002) a Polish Christian, was among the first prisoner transport to arrive in Auschwitz. He managed to escape and was later captured under different name and sent back to the camp. As an artist and graduate of the Krakow Fine Arts Academy, he sketched and painted scenes from everyday life in the concentration camps. He survived Auschwitz, Buchenwald, Gross-Rosen, Sachsenhausen, and Dachau
death camps. After the war he emigrated to the USA and worked for the Washington Post as an illustrator.
More about Jan Komski

Part I. 05:53 min.

Part II. 08:50 min.

A Forgotten Odyssey. The story of Soviet deportations of Polish nationals from annexed, under the Ribbentrop-Molotov Treaty, Poland's eastern provinces into Siberia gulags. Soviet Union, after being attacked in 1941, switched its alliances from Germany to the Western powers. It eventually brought the freedom to hundreds of thousands of imprisoned Poles, but also made the knowledge of their Soviet Union odyssey inconvenient and destined to be forgotten by the West. VHS / DVD.

Introduction. 03:00 min.

Gulag deportations. 03:22 min.

Life in gulags. 03:02 min.

Amnesty. 02:02 min.

Katyn. 02:18 min.

Teheran conference . 01:35 min.

A Web of War. A compelling documentary about how Canada and Poland fought alongside one another during the Second World War. The film accompanies three Canadians as they return to Europe to relive their wartime experiences: veteran Canadian officer Pierre Sevigny, received Poland's highest military decoration; Michael Gutowski, a Polish cavalry officer, went on to found Canada's Olympic equestrian team; and Irena Bellert, a member of the Polish underground and today a linguistics professor at McGill University. VHS. To purchase contact: Galafilm, Inc.

Part I. 07:02 min.

Zegota. Council for Aid to Jews in Occupied Poland (1942-1945). Zegota was the only government-sponsored (London-based Polish Government-in-Exile) social welfare agency established to rescue Jews in German-occupied Europe. It provided hiding places and false identify documents for Jewish men, women, and children who were able to escape from Nazi control and ultimately their efforts saved thousands of lives. VHS / VCD. To purchase contact: Documentaries International Film & Video Foundation.

Part I. 09:23 min.

Part II. 10:36 min.

Part III. 08:32 min.

Against the Odds. A documentary about the resistance in the Nazi Germany concentration camps. It tells the largely unknown story of the people who were strong enough to fight back even in the hell that was inside the camps. It describes various forms of resistance such as the smuggling of medicines, elimination of Gestapo informers within the camps, sabotage in weapons factories and preparations for rebellions in the camps. To purchase contact:
Capital j. Films.

Burning Questions. Award-winning documentary addresses the lesser known story of three million Christian Poles who perished under Nazi occupation.
Mishael Porembski, a filmmaker from Atlanta decided to make the film after learning about her father's past history during WWII. Mishael traveled to Poland with her father to explore the present day relationship between Poland's Catholics and Jews as they live together through this painful history. Shown on PBS. VHS.

Land of My Mother.
Produced in New York during WWII using footage from 'Malownicza Polska', the only color film ever produced in pre-war Poland. Includes scenes from Warsaw, Wilno, Lwow, Gdynia, Zakopane, the Polish countryside, and ancient works of Art. The Canadian Foundation for Polish Studies. Archival film, VHS. (email for inquiries).

Warsaw Rising: The Forgotten Soldiers of World War II. Tells the story of the Polish resistance and its 63-day battle against the Nazis, a battle fought while the Western world celebrated the successful Allied landings at Normandy. Through interviews with survivors and use of rarely seen footage filmed by the Underground Army, CNN Presents offers an unflinching look at how a country known as the “first ally” was abandoned in its hour of need. CNN Presents, 2004, VHS / DVD. To purchase contact: FDCH e-Media.